Book I

Foraois

Forest

Chapter IV

Encounter

"May your journey overflow with chance and fated encounters."

Kaoru was awakened by the sounds of Sanosuke banging around in the kitchen, surely scrounging around for the remains of their rations to throw together some odd breakfast, and she groaned as she rolled onto her back. Looking over blearily at the curtains, she realized that it was still not sunrise and she blinked momentarily before her mind reminded her that there had been something beckoning to her from the mountainside. Sliding out of bed quickly, she crossed the three meters between her bed and the window and ripped open the curtains, the mountain greeting her and her sleepy eyes scanned the mountain side in search of the light.

"Gone," She murmured when she failed to spot it and she sighed as she looked up at the leaf of star anise that was dangling innocently from the nail above her window. Her mind casually pondered if the old ritual had been effective or if the vizinho was bidding time or not even interested in seeking her out. Her mind mustered up a rudimentary pair of scenarios that she discarded with a certain hint of indifference to them. She snorted lightly as she reached up and touched the star anise with the tip of her index finger, battering the leaf gently as she smiled lightly to herself before turning away from the window and exiting her room.

"Morning, Missy," Sanosuke greeted as he contemplated how to best prepare the four eggs that were left in their pantry. His brown eyes were dark with concentration as he pondered the merits of scrambled or hard boiled eggs and Kaoru decided it was best to leave him to his own devices without her lack of culinary skills ruining the little food that they had left. She glanced over at the fire and realized that it was nearing a pile of smouldering embers and gave Sanosuke a quick look before padding over to the fireplace and crouching down to add more wood.

"I thought you brought in more wood, Sano," She called to the kitchen and she heard him mutter something about 'these damned rations' before she brushed her hands of the soot. Rising to her feet, she reached for her everyday cloak—a worn garment that was a hand-me-down from Ro—and shoved her feet into the espadrilles that were standard-issued to the citizens under Central's reach. Cheap and easy to assemble, the espadrilles were useless for anything other than walking around town but Kaoru did not complain as the comfortable shoes hugged her feet nicely. She had restitched hers to last a bit longer, using thread that Sanosuke had procured from the black market, and she had dyed them with the remains of some dried plants so that they were a bit more tailored to her own personal tastes.

"If you're going to get some more wood, take the lantern," Sanosuke advised as he finally turned around to look at his friend. "It's almost daybreak, but it's still a bit dark."

"I thought you had brought more yesterday," Kaoru repeated.

"I did, but it was just twigs and some branches and I got caught in the rain," Sanosuke replied evenly. "Besides, with everyone trying to get their own firewood from the area around Tereré, we have to keep getting closer and closer to the mountain. Wouldn't have been useful to bring wet wood, would it?" His eyes were knowing as Kaoru nodded in agreement before pivoting around and walking towards their supply closet to pull out the small glass lantern that they used occasionally.

"It should still have enough juice in it from the last time I used it," Sanosuke commented as he watched as Kaoru dusted the light coating of dust that had accumulated on the small glass lamp. "We have a few more castor seeds if you still need them."

"I won't be gone long," Kaoru said lightly as she reached for the matches and lit the oil lamp with a well practiced motion. "I'll try to get as much as I can carry, but we will have to go out once things have dried out more." She lifted the oil lamp from the table and she returned to the fireplace to collect the wicker backpack that Sanosuke had deposited carelessly in the corner of the living room. "I'm just going to get what's sort of dry—although I don't think I'll find much."

"Where are you going to look?" It was an innocent enough question but Sanosuke knew Kaoru well enough to be able to guess that she would stray close to the overlook of Tereré in order to do a casual sweep to see if she could spot the light. Freezing for a moment before continuing to shrug herself into the wicker backpack, she felt her lip stiffen at the underlying accusation that he knew she was potentially going to defy him.

"I won't go into the safe-zone in the mountain," She said slowly. "If that's what you're implying. I was thinking about the safe-zone clearing though."

"I'll be watching through the window," Sanosuke said with a hint of warning in his voice. "It's not safe, Missy, don't play around with your life—at least like this. Wait until you're on the clock if you're going to do something reckless." Kaoru did not even blink at the implications of his words because she knew that he was right once again and that she did need to keep her 'curiosity' in check in order to avoid endangering the others around her.

"I won't go," She repeated in a low voice.

"Good," Sanosuke said simply before moving back towards the kitchen. "I'll have breakfast ready for when you come back. Don't take too long. We can go pick up the rations after we eat. Or you can get them and I pick up our salaries from the bank."

"Sounds good," Kaoru relented with a tepid smile as she gingerly stepped over the flour circle and unbolted their front door, pushing it open with a mighty shove as she felt her espadrilles loose traction momentarily on the floor before she regained her footing. Slipping through the door and shutting it, she held the oil lamp up and created a small stream of warm light that lit her face up in a bizarre dance of shadows. Her blue eyes were alert as she gazed around the residential area of Tereré and was satisfied that life was still slumbering peacefully and that nothing seemed out of place.

Rounding the corner of the intersection, she slowly crossed the grid-like system that Central had put in, in favour of the more modern street like system as opposed to what had existed in the first place. Kaoru was still fairly young when Central had began its process of transforming Tereré into an industrial powerhouse. The streets had been winding and sprawling, Kaoru could recall playing amongst friends' houses, and the houses had been much more typical of the Northern people. Their facades had been constructed of sturdy granite but those had been dismantled and shipped to Central for other uses. The newer houses that had been built in replacement were made of wood and did little to keep the warmth within their confines. The house that Kaoru shared with Sanosuke had been one of the few original ones left in place but it, too, had been ransacked of useful materials and resources.

She could recall the bustling market place that was lush with fruits and vegetables from the South, meat from the central plains, breads from the wonderful grains in the West, and fish from the Eastern seaboard. It had been a colourful market that was overwhelming with sounds, textures, and smells that she had not felt in more than a decade. She missed being able to peer into the stalls and see what the vendors had for offering that day. The market still existed but it was an insulting representation of what it had been and she always felt disappointed when she had to cut through there to get to a delegation office. Central had cut off the trade routes between the four cardinal directions and everything had to pass through the heart of the country so that the citizens of the capital had their first selection and they were often left with the scraps of what the higher class capital-lites did not want.

Those had been the first signs that things were going to become more difficult.

Then they had shuttered her school and delegated the children to the government's whims and needs. She, too, had been caught in that wave.

Then her mother was unable to get the medicine needed to treat her illness and perished.

Then her friends slowly began to turn into statistics of the state, bodies dumped in unmarked graves in the outskirts of Tereré.

Then it became harder to get oil and fats for cooking. Meat was no longer a part of their diet: everything was shipped to Central.

Then the raids and the campaigns began.

Kaoru's nostrils flared at the memory of reading in the living room of her old home and her father answering the door to a group of Central state soldiers that pushed him to the side. They had stomped into her childhood home and searched everything to under the suspicion that her father had been a sympathizer with the vizinhos or, effectively, an enemy against Central's agenda to reestablish humans as the dominant species. She remembered as the soldiers knocked precious clay statues to the ground, shattering them and then stepping on them, and she could recall them ransacking her room and ripping up drawings that were left over from her school days. Even though she was sixteen and the schools had shut mere months before, she still held onto things from much more innocent times as though clinging to a memory would help sooth the dull pain of knowing her world was crumbling around her.

Her father had stood by passively as he watched the soldier rummage through important papers, only wincing when they ripped something, and Kaoru felt her heart shudder at watching her normally brave father be reduced to a passive observer as their lively-hood was scrutinized and violated by the hands of the Central state soldiers. She herself had been horrified as they blew through their house and left it as thought a tornado had passed through the cozy hearth and clearly remembered the defeated look her father flashed her momentarily before going about and collecting what he could rescue from the soldiers' destruction.

Skipping a step on her good leg, she slowly wound her way though a narrow alleyway, holding up the oil light to illuminate the narrow path and she ghosted over the ground as she vanished between two houses and emerged onto a busy street that would lead her to a marked safe area to collect whatever semi-dry wood she could find. Judging by the time, she reckoned that there was at least someone out patrolling the perimeter and knew that she could collect her wood in peace before returning home to see how Sanosuke's interpretation of eggs would haunt her digestive system.

Reaching a clearing that was at the foot of the mountain and held some sparsely forested ground, she studied the area to see what types of wood were available to her and ready for the picking. The heavy rains from the previous day and early evening had left everything soaking wet but she knew if she sorted through some of the trees and underbrush a bit deeper into area, she would probably be able to pick up a few things to keep them going through the day. Stepping into the area, she set the oil lamp on the ground along with the wicker backpack and kneeled down delicately as she reached her hands into the undergrowth and began to feel around for any stray sticks of chunks of wood that could serve her needs.

Her fingers groped around the plants, her face contorting as she brushed over a patch of sticky and moist moss, and she managed to wrap her hands around a sizeable piece of wood that was mostly dry. She pulled it out quickly and dropped it in her backpack, resuming her task as she felt around for more wood that was similar in character. Her eyes were focused on the undergrowth and she had a lingering sensation that a creature would latch onto her hand at any moment but shook it away as she grabbed another piece of wood and tossed it into the backpack thoughtlessly. Kaoru's efficiency at this task was unrivalled given that she had been required to do it for many years and she knew how to tell what wood would burn and which would not. It was dirty work and she and Sanosuke often quarrelled over whose turn it was, but many times she would relent and do it herself because it gave her a break from other tasks that she would saddle him with in her stead.

As she invested herself in her work, she began to unconsciously hum in her throat as her mind wandered. The last day or so had been bizarre to her and she was still reeling from what Ro had divulged to her about Tomoe. Kaoru was aware that Ro would never intentionally do anything to cause harm to Kaoru and she knew that the blonde saw the merit in indulging her in those details and that her fears and anxiety could potentially be justified if what Ro claimed was true. She had neglected to tell Sanosuke about that particular highlight of her day, knowing that he would have shrugged or made some sort of comment, and she had resigned herself to allowing herself to think on it. Her mind was arriving to two distinct forks in the road: confront Tomoe directly and demand explanations or let it go.

Before she had realized it, she was murmuring the words to another childhood song that they had, had drilled into their minds by teachers and mothers and fathers alike, her voice sweet and delicate as she hummed out the first notes of the ditty as her hands still searched the undergrowth for the wood.

"In the prisons of Tereré, was a prisoner," She began to sing in a low voice as she felt the melody spill from her mouth of its own accord. "No one came to see him but the jailer's daughter…" She cut herself off as she felt her hands brush something with thorns and she withdrew her hand with a hiss as she inspected her skin. It was only a slight cut and she shrugged as she reached back into the undergrowth with a wary look as she knew now that she was dealing with the unpleasant prickly plants that seemed to cause more headaches than anything.

"In the the town they say that you are going to be hanged," Kaoru continued to hum as she busied herself with the task and allocated herself another ten minutes to gather what they needed. "Since they will hang me, untie my feet—-the girl was young—" She was interrupted again as a spike of something malicious in the air came to her attention and she jerked herself up as she pushed herself to her feet rapidly. Her azure eyes were alert as she scanned the area around her and did not see any patrollers or other individuals around.

"Damn," She muttered darkly as she slowly backed away from the undergrowth to put distance between the plants and herself and she made a tck sound in her throat for neglecting to have left the house even without a pocket knife. She knew that this area was cleared on a constant basis by the patrollers so that the civilians and non-armed citizens could gather wood without risk, having done that particular task thousands of times herself, yet she was unsure as to how long it had been since they had passed through the supposed safe zone.

Slowly reaching down to scoop up the oil lamp, she ran through the several options in her mind as she bit her lip in concentration. Her senses were tuned enough that she knew that whatever shifted the airs was near by but she could not pick up the exact distance. She slowly felt herself centre once more as she tried to calm herself down to try and read the environment to determine if it was going to be something malicious or it was a tiny vizinho that had scrambled down the mountain to investigate the noises she was surely making in the early hours of the morning.

I've got an oil lamp… and a backpack, She mused dryly— her inner voice was much more sardonic than normal—as she contemplated her strategy if whatever was lurking around was not benign. Her weaker leg was another disadvantage and she knew that if she were required to sprint away, despite however short the distance was, she would be favouring one leg and it was not a viable option. Kaoru also knew that she could potentially stand her ground and linger around to see what was creeping around in the darkness but she knew that, that carried its own dangers and consequences if she were to make even the slightest miscalculation.

Kaoru was more or less versed in hand to hand combat but that had only been ever practiced on fellow humans and she was unsure as to how effective punching a potentially dangerous beast would be. Gritting her teeth she took a defensive stance as she held the oil lamp up to try and light up what little she could with the flickering flame that threatened to blow out at any moment. She was mentally reeling at this point but knew that she was effectively cornered in an unruly situation that was unfavourable to her across the board. Kaoru eyed the ground momentarily before she slowly slid to position herself behind her wicker backpack, some rag-tag idea forming in her brain as she roved her eyes over the terrain.

The rustling in the trees to her left was enough to make her hair stand up on the back of her neck and she whirled around on her good leg, holding her oil lamp up even further as she squinted and made out the form of a beast. She felt her heart skip a heavy beat as she watched the beast emerge from the trees on four sturdy legs, long and protruding quills on its back standing straight in a defensive position. Kaoru felt her throat close momentarily as she recognized the beast as a venomous-class vizinho that tended to cause patrollers issues and had chalked up a few human deaths to its name. She cursed inwardly as she froze and hoped that the beast's poor eyesight would work to her advantage.

Kaoru was willing her body to not make any sound as she watched the quilled beast, classified under the name 'Espina', circle the enclosure, a trail of noxious drool dripping down from between its fangs. She wanted to cover her nose to avoid breathing in the toxic chemicals that were laced in the beast's saliva but she resisted the urge to make any moments as she watched it out of the corner of her eye as it slowly made a pass behind her. She could hear it inhaling and scenting the air loud and clear and she desperately bit back the need to cry out for help or to mewl in fear.

She herself had never encountered an Espina type vizinho yet she had heard tales from Ro about someone on her patrol shift who had been stabbed with a few of the quills. The beast itself, despite being blind and mostly dumb and giving off an aura of slowness and clumsiness, was lethal to those who were victims of its poisonous quills. Ro had described how one of the patroller's arms had swollen like a disgusting balloon as it shifted between a horrid purple and a pussy appendage that oozed a yellow creamy liquid that stank of putrefying muscles. When Ro had said that the patroller had died within three hours, Kaoru sent a silent prayer that she would never come in contact with the Espina-class creature that she was now watching warily as she felt herself backed into a dangerous corner from which there was no visible escape.

Some of the first lessons that patrollers were taught in their training were the different types of mythical creatures that they had affectionately and ironically named 'vizinhos' or 'neighbours'. Kaoru could recall the teacher, an elderly man named Genzai, as he drew crude representations of the beasts on the chalkboard and explained how they were venomous, capable of shift shaping, magic users, illusion casters, or just plain dangerous given that they were often armed to the teeth with fangs and claws. They had lost many patrollers due to the lack of information on the beasts and their habitats and that was when patrollers had the task of not only beating back the beasts that threatened the labourers in the mountains and forest but they also were field observers that documented oddities and strange things to be examined by a separate party of people. Kaoru had enjoyed that part of the job immensely as she always felt quite happy to expand on her knowledge as well as use a bit of her own drawing skills to pass the time on the assigned routes.

Espina, poisonous, nearly blind—slow, but is able to launch its quills when provoked or startled, not docile, herbivore, they favour flat ground because their large size and top-heavy weight makes it difficult for them to climb mountains or deal with changes of elevation, She thought to herself calmly as she also slowly counted backwards from fifty as she tried to regulate her heart beat to avoid the beast hearing it and picking up on her fear. Despite the fact she had a rudimentary working knowledge of the creature she was acutely aware that she had no way of being able to escape from it much less beat it back to make an exit for herself.

The best way to handle these creatures is to confuse it with auditory tricks and create false distractions to confuse its hearing, She continued to roll over the information in her mind as she felt her muscles in her left arm growing stiff from not moving and from holding the oil lamp. The weakest spot on an Espina-class is the belly, which is hard to access given that getting close to the creature is difficult. Long range weapons work best as does gun powder which, if used in proper quantities, can scare them enough to topple them over. She herself was not someone who'd delved into the world of explosives or gun powder but she knew of more elite members of her ranks that swore by it and its destructive properties.

Kaoru's mind stopped as the beast lifted itself head and its glassy eyes trained on her, nostrils flaring angrily as it seemed to pick up on her scent. It then hit her as it streamed through her hair and rustled her ponytail against the back of her cloak—the movements in the wind were slight enough to catch the vizinho's attention and she realized that she was now effectively trapped and the beast had locked onto her as it ambled closer to her, quills swaying side-to-side as her eyes widened as she watched the creature angle them so that they seemed to point down in a funnel like shape where she would be the recipient.

She cursed Central, amongst other things, but she began to run through her entire vocabulary that Sanosuke had contributed to: Central had ensured that patrollers, under the guise of controlling supplies, were only to be armed when they were on duty. Many families had been forced to turn over precious heirlooms or practical weapons to the delegation and they were melted away and forged into tools for the patrol divisions as well as the state army. Kaoru knew that Ro's pickaxe was made of sturdy composite metals that gave it an odd colouring but was still functional. Kaoru's own weapon, one of the few not made of metal, had been confiscated in the raids on homes and it had fallen onto her register when she mentioned that she enjoyed the idea of high impact and close combat. As she felt the Espina creep up on her and its quills trembled as they seemed to be prepping to be launched through the air and sink into her body, she closed her eyes as she fought the urge to exhale. If anything she was determined not to lose her self control in this instance and was wagering a hefty bet that someone would see her and come to her rescue.

She also knew that, that was improbable: not enough time had passed for Sanosuke to be concerned about her safe return home and she had a sinking feeling that the patrollers were probably not going to pass through the clearing any time soon.

Kaoru watched helplessly as she was frozen to where she was standing as the great beast lumbered towards her to the point she could feel the warmth of its poisonous breath against her skin. She felt loose trails of saliva hit the exposed part of her outstretched left hand and she swallowed a gasp at the burning as the saliva dribbled down her arm, leaving an acrid smell of blistering and festering skin in its wake. She wanted to scream out in pain as the saliva burned her skin but she managed to push it down her throat as she knew that this was at least curable compared to being stung with a lethal quill. Her azure eyes were wide as she watched the beast lean in against her, the tip of a quill nearly snagging her cloak and ensnaring itself in the fabric, but she nearly cried out in relief when the quill freed itself as the beast sniffed her gingerly, the disgusting scent of its drool penetrating Kaoru's nose.

Please, she thought as she squeezed her eyes closed as she calculated her chances of surviving the encounter and was left dumb-struck by the odds that were spinning out of control and slowly closing in on zero. Her mind was speeding in a lane of logic and knowledge as she tried to weave together a solution or somesort of plan to change the flow of fate but she was drawing up null or fatal answers that would only accelerate her passing onto the other side.

Some help would be great now, she was too scared to voice her fears, to make that simple call for help which would seal her death and have her body pierced by the most vicious of toxic quills. She figured that a civilian would mostly likely encounter her body, puss and infection-ridden, on the ground of the clearing and that the Espina's signature venom would be the only clue as to how she perished in what was supposedly a safe zone. She could already imagine a crudely fashioned funeral with Sanosuke and Ro being the two main attendees and the rest were shadowed figures who had paid their respects out of a sense of duty and little more. She would become another statistic in Central's ledger and the mere thought of being reduced to an inky tick in the worn scrolls was enough to set off red networks of rage through her body.

She felt her eyes squeeze even tighter as the Espina's drool dribbled mindlessly onto the exposed skin of her neck and she felt it burn at the nape in an uncomfortable symphony of horrid sensations as the images of rotting flesh came to mind. The sensation was much more uncomfortable against the tender flesh of her neck as she felt the burning fade into a disgusting ache that seemed to blister her skin and she knew it would be red and covered in disfigured welts that would take ages to heal if left too long. She tried to dull her mind to the pain as she felt the beast circle but something in her mind's eye snapped and she felt a surge of unknown energy wash over the clearing and she forced her eyes open as discreetly as possible—convinced that the beast could potentially pick up on her eyelids being peeled apart.

The delicate internal radio that each patroller had tuned to the environment around them started to pick up static as Kaoru was unable to read or pick up the frequency of whatever had emitted such a powerful burst of spiritual energy. All she was able to suss out what that it was not malicious nor friendly: it was purely neutral and just seemed to be flexing its muscles to the Espina that had ceased circling Kaoru, nostrils flared outward as its quills shifted again, one of them dangerously close to Kaoru's shoulder and others within stabbing distance if she took a poorly planned step or if the Espina wanted to turn her into a pin cushion.

Oh, what now? She thought miserably as she felt the very last frays of self control and discipline threaten to unwind as she slowly moved her gaze to the tree line, her azure orbs wary and filled with angst as she willed herself to maintain her stiff posture. The Espina was uttering a retched noise from its throat as though it were a cross between a growl and yelp and Kaoru felt oddly disturbed by such an un-human sound emitting from the beast's mouth. The noise it was making combined with the smells of her flesh being away by the toxic drool and the wind that had slowly picked up was too much for Kaoru and she felt uncomfortably resigned with her fate.

As her eyes fell into a half lidded state, she could make out the humanoid figure obscured by the darkness of the trees and the lack of natural light and she felt nothing as she was ready to fold her hand in this cruel gambling game. As the human-like shape drew closer to the open space, the Espina's growling grew in volume and she felt the tip of one of its quills brushing her shoulder without penetrating the mere cloth of her civilian cloak. She was unsure as to why the beast was reacting the way it was but she was certainly aware that it was much more sensitive to the environment and was perceiving whatever was approaching as a hefty threat.

Kaoru's ears strained as her eyes blurred from the noxious environment the Espina was creating but she was unable to hear any footsteps from the individual who crept closer and closer. It was a phantom-like gait with which he carried himself: there was something that seemed horribly enchanting about being able to skim over the ground undetected yet she was also unsure because very few villagers were able to do that. She also was able to pick out the tattered remains of his clothes and she felt her guard shoot immediately upwards at the realization that he was not wearing garbs typical of the North—or any garbs from other geographical areas of the state controlled by Central.

Whoever—or whatever—this individual was, he was approaching with a confident stride to his step that rolled off his body in waves and projected something un-human to Kaoru that made her throat catch in admiration and horror. Kaoru felt another quill brush against her as the Espina-class vizinho shifted its weight and turned itself to face the approaching figure, its growl much more voracious and ragged. It heaved a few steps forward as its nostrils continued to scent the air, flaring the skin that was criss-crossed with nerves of crimson blood. Kaoru watched in awe as the beast lumbered away from her, allowing her sizeable gap to slowly move away if she wished to make a quick escape from what she had thought to be a perilous end to her already short life.

She watched as the figure was finally freed from the grips of the shadows and she nearly gasped aloud at the sight of the man: he was only a head or so taller than herself and his mane of fiery red hair was knotted and uneven as it fanned against his body. He was wearing what looked to be tattered open cape with nothing underneath and washed out patched pants that stopped just at the knee and were secured with a tightly tied cord that had seen better times. He was hardly dressed for the environment of Tereré and the North and Kaoru solidified her theory that he was definitely not indigenous to her village or that he was completely insane and immune to the harsh wintry climate.

What caught her eye though, as she studied him with her trained field observer like prowess, was the cross shaped scar that was carved into his left cheek. Even though he was still far away, she could see the jagged lines of the scar and she wondered if that was something recently acquired or if it had been something that had, had significant time to cement its presence on his angled face. She swallowed as she lowered her arm holding the oil lamp as she took a mindful step backwards in the attempts to put some distance between herself and the Espina as well as the stranger.

As she took a deep breath as quietly as possible, Kaoru felt her mind begin to cloud over again as she felt the burns on her arm and neck sizzle and bite into her skin, the blisters already beginning to form in haphazard patterns on her body. She grit her teeth as looked over at the stranger who was considering her with a neutral expression that was hidden within the depths of a lovely violet shade of colour that she had never seen on another villager. Kaoru's eyebrow raised at him as though questioning what he was doing and he tilted his head as he looked over at the Espina-class creature with an unassuming aura about him that made Kaoru even more nervous. She had narrowly escaped her potential death from being poisoned but there was the new factor to an equation that she was unsure as to how to solve.

"You're quite angry, that you are," His voice sounded as he crooned to the Espina vizinho who was stumbling its way towards him. The red-headed stranger raised his right hand and stared down at it momentarily before he looked over at creature once again and gave it an almost pitying smile as he lowered his hand to his side again, curling it into a fist, before sliding his legs apart so that his stance was lower to the ground. Kaoru watched as he seemed to calculate the distance between himself and the Espina, whose quills had shifted once more and were pointed at the figure of the man, and she felt as though she were a voyeur to a very bizarre act of theatre with complex choreography that had one trying to read the other and vice-versa.

"But you cannot be hurting people," He said softly to the point Kaoru nearly missed it with her own ears and she whirled her head around as she watched him push off his back leg and with a speed she had never witnessed in her life, she watched as he unfurled his fist and smashed into the animal, his hand digging into the blubbery flesh between quills as he muttered something lost to her. Kaoru felt her jaw unhinge and drop as she watched as the Espina let out a wheeze and angry roar, quills seemingly pointing in any direction possible, and the vizinho tumbled onto its side and began to twitch and seize up. Quills were launched and Kaoru yelped as one pierced the wicker backpack full of firewood and side stepped to avoid one that would have gone through her torso had she not moved.

The figure retracted his hand from the beast and leapt backwards as he stared down at his hand, the creases and folds of skin seeming run alight with a golden current of light that vanished with a hiss. He then looked at the beast that was slowing its seizure-like behaviour as it seemed to fall into a slumber and seize its fitful motions that were making Kaoru's stomach queasy. It was unsettling to witness such a beast flail around in the throes of a forced sleep and she felt pity that it had almost been an unfair fight.

Kaoru opened her mouth in the attempt to say something but she snapped it shut as she realized that she was unable to summon the words to even begin to discourse with this individual. The red-headed male looked over at her with wide violet eyes as though he were taking her in properly for the first time and he took a cautious step towards her, forcing her to take another one back. Kaoru winced as the burns on her skin protested at her creasing her muscles but she grit her teeth as she slid back a few more feet as she wished to widen the distance between the two of them slightly more.

"Who are you?" She finally managed to ask as the words tumbled sloppily from her mouth. The male stared at her with the same wide-eyed expression as his lips pursed together into a thin line and he tried to reach out to grab her arm. Kaoru yanked her arm away and side stepped as she felt her leg warn her that the stitches were being pulled taught. She, as the male discovered, seemed proficient enough by the way she moved and knew how to circle around an enemy yet she had been injured and seemed content with ignoring the extent of them as she watched him like a hawk.

"I was hoping you could answer that for me, that I was," He replied steadily as the sound of his own voice once again startled him. He blinked at her was as he watched her look over at the village momentarily before he realized that there were black spots creeping into his vision. Something must have been expressed on his face as her expression softened from a defensive one to a baffled one as the dark spots seemed to burn across his eyes, casting everything into darkness once again as he felt his body give out and he toppled forward, the last sound he heard was his body hitting the ground harshly and the sound of her ragged gasp.

Sleep, his body crooned. You have done well.

So he slept, submitting to his body's wishes as the damp earth raced up to meet his face.

A/N: It is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I have condensed it with some juicer plot devices! ! :D Unfortunately, work keeps me busy given that it is a bustling university, but I will update as I can!

I hope this chapter will be enjoyed and I hope the introduction of Kenshin, although unnamed for now, was worth the building up of the world a bit. The song that Kaoru was humming is from a folk song whose origins are found in the Northwest of France. The original song is called "In the Nantes Prison" or "Dans les prisons de Nantes". There are several versions of the song but they're all lovely. As you can see, I am pulling a lot of influence from European folklore and folk songs. They've got something mystic about them and have been able to stand the test of time for a reason!

A couple of notes:

Vizinho: Portuguese word for 'neighbour'. I wanted to use the word ironically in all senses of the word given that beasts that wish revenge on humans are anything but 'neighbourly'. A reviewer guessed correctly!

Espina: Spanish word for 'thorn' or 'spine'.

I love experimenting with different languages to give the world a blending of cultures. In other words, it does not forcibly this AU world inherently Japanese or Iberian. Drawing on themes from all parts of the globe gives it a rich texture, I think, and it is something I am playing with constantly. It gives a world a much more colourful palette to work with without running the risk of limiting it to just one set culture.

As usual, characters are not mind, world is! They're just fun to pluck into new scenarios. And thank you to everyone who had reviewed! They really make my day. :)